Effects of vanadium concentration on the densification, microstructures and mechanical properties of tungsten vanadium alloys

Tungsten based vanadium alloys have been fabricated by powder metallurgy and consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at temperature of 1600 degrees C for 3-5 min at 50 MPa. Four different concentrations of vanadium ranging from 1 to 10 wt.% were used to investigate the behavior of the developed alloys. X-ray diffraction analyses were performed for all four compositions of tungsten vanadium alloys. The morphology of cross sectional crack surfaces of sintered alloys was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The variations of vanadium concentration has not only shown an obvious impact on the microstructures, but also improved the densification and mechanical properties of the tungsten based materials. The maximum relative density of 98.5% was achieved for the highest concentration (10 wt.%) of vanadium alloy with micro hardness of 507 HV and good bending strength of 692.5 MPa. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.